Back to Real Life

Back to reality! The second week of Christmas break was so enjoyable. We just hung out here at home, relaxed, and I worked on cleaning. As always, it is hard to see Phil go back to work! I really miss him.

I got a menu plan done and we are finally back on track with regular (and nutritious meals). It has been so nice to sit down as a family and have a big dinner together. When I was sick, Phil put together or finished up a last minute meal when he got home from work and I was usually in bed feeling too sick to get up! We are trying to get ourselves into the habit of making dinner a family fellowship where we sit and relax at the table. I have been reading Island of the Blue Dolphins as soon as we finish. I have lots of plans to add to this time but for now, we are starting simple, with a family read. Sawyer and Phil can't seem to get enough and keep begging for one more chapter! LOL! It is good practice for the children to remain in their seats, wait patiently, be good listeners, participate in discussions, etc..

We are working on getting back into homeschooling as well after the break. I noticed that there were a few steps back in letter formation and remembering. I see the value in doing year round education with only short breaks. I did not get a chance to formally plan for the week so we have been doing letter names and sounds with flashcards, workbooks for math, our Bible devotional, and reading. This school time is going to look very different as Brighton is now sleeping in in the morning and awake during school time. I have not quite figured out how to make this time run smoothly. I started mat time training for him. (Which is training him to sit on a mat for whatever time I specify, having him play with a few toys.) It will take some time to have him trained well enough that I can devote my attention to a lesson.

My New Year's Resolution is to simply establish good habits and help the children establish good habits. As a family, we are all working on keeping the clutter under control. We are taking the time to really train the children to take care of their responsibilities immediately (like making beds, putting away clothes and jammies first thing in the morning) and help out with breakfast dishes right after breakfast. Good habits that we sometimes let slide in favor a giant houseclean at the end of the day or until there is a pile up that needs to be addressed. It is slow going but I know it will be worthwhile to be diligent in focusing on this. When I was feeling poorly, the house maintenance really went downhill as I was just unable to keep caught up. The aftermath left me feeling quite inspired to get it together!


Playing in the playroom!

Mat time training

For a free time activity, the children chose to work on their new activity books that they got for Christmas.

Evi had problems with her pants all day. She didn't mind but Sawyer kept trying to help her fix them.
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